Pipe handling apparatus

ABSTRACT

In a rotary blast hole drill, three drill pipes are stored in the drill mast for use in extending the length of the drill stem. Each of the drill pipes is stored in a rack that has a socket in the bottom to receive the bottom end of the pipe and a pair of jaws articulating about a common pivot to restrain the top end of the pipe. The jaws are locked in a closed position with a lock operated by a pneumatic motor, which is controlled by a valve that is actuated when a pipe is removed from or inserted in the socket. The pipe rack in its storage position is held by a pneumatically operated latch that is interlocked with the rack operator.

Elite States Neimark et al.

atet [191 [451 Jan. 14,1975

PIPE HANDLING APPARATUS Inventors: Jack D. Neimark, New Berlin;

Matthew Smith, Milwaukee, both of Wis.

Bucyrus-Erie Company, South Milwaukee, Wis.

Filed: Oct. 10, 1973 Appl. No.: 404,924

[73] Assignee:

US. Cl. 2l4/2.5 Int. Cl E2lb 19/00 Field of Search 214/25, 1 P; 294/110 R, 294/110 A; 175/85 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,212,593 10/1965 Reischl ..214/2.5X

3,734,208 5/l973 Otto 214/25 Primary ExaminerAllen N. Knowles Attorney, Agent, or FirmQu arles & Brady [57] ABSTRACT In a rotary blast hole drill, three drill pipes are stored in the drill mast for use in extending the length of the drill stem. Each of the drill pipes is stored in a rack that has a socket in the bottom to receive the bottom end of the pipe and a pair of jaws articulating about a common pivot to restrain the top end of the pipe. The jaws are locked in a closed position with a lock operated by a pneumatic motor, which is controlled by a valve that is actuated when a pipe is removed from or inserted in the socket. The pipe rack in its storage position is held by a pneumatically operated latch that is interlocked with the rack operator.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PIPE HANDLING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improvement on the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,593 which issued on the application of Reischl to the assignee of the present application. That patent discloses a blast hole drill, which is a mobile drilling machine of the sort commonly used in quarries, and the machine is built to propel to any desired location in a quarry to drill holes for explosives used in blasting loose the mineral being mined. To function in this capacity, the drilling machine must be highly mobile and it must be capable of drilling holes of any desired depth within a broad range.

To achieve these objectives, the drill is mounted on a propel vehicle and the drill stem, sometimes called a drill string, is made up of one or more drill pipes fastened together end to end by a screw thread connection. A plurality of drill pipes are stored on the drilling machine, and may be retrieved from storage and assembled onto the drill string in succession as the hole is being drilled, or successively removed from the drill string as the drill string is retracted from the completed hole and returned to storage. The individual drill pipes may be 30 to 60 feet in length, and the pipe handling apparatus must be capable of storing the pipes securely both during drilling and propel, and of presenting the pipes centered over the drill hole either to be assembled onto the drill stem, or to be retrieved from the drill stem for return to storage.

In the Reischl U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,593 three drill pipes are shown stored in the vertical drill mast, each pipe being held by a vertical pipe rack which is pivotally fastened on its top and bottom ends to arms that are pivotally fastened to the mast so that by raising and lowering the arms the drill rack is alternately retracted from a position over the hole, or lowered down to a position centered over the drilling hole. When a drill pipe is in the pipe rack, its bottom end is screw threaded into a socket and its top end is held by a pair of separately pivoted pipe retainer jaws. When the pipe is lowered over the hole, the drill head, which contains the drill rotating machinery, lowers onto the top end of the pipe, engages the pipe and slowly turns the pipeout of the socket. As the pipe is turned out of the socket, it releases a spring-biased linkage which opens the retainer jaws at the top so that the pipe is entirely free and the pipe rack can be retracted to its storage position, when the head lowers the pipe onto the drill stem and slowly turns it onto the drill stem. Conversely, to remove a pipe from the drill stem the joint is broken by wrenches, the pipe section is turned off of the drill stem by the drill head and lifted upwardly, at which point the pipe rack is lowered over the hole and the drill head slowly turns the pipe into the socket, depressing the linkage which in turn closes the retainer jaws about the top end of the pipe. While the apparatus disclosed and claimed in the Reischl patent has enjoyed good success, its use in the field has revealed several areas where improvements could substantially enhance it.

In the first place, the mechanical linkage for closing the pipe retainer jaws about the top end of the pipe as it is being returned to storage operates relatively slowly due to the fact that the pipe must be turned slowly into the socket. Consequently, special care must be taken to insure that the pipe is securely held at the top end, for

failure to take such measures may result in the pipe falling out of the storage pipe rack with resulting damage to the equipment. Second, the jaw mechanism for the pipe retainer required very close tolerances, and hence not only needed to be made by hand, but was vulnerable to wear. Third, a mechanical latch is necessary to hold the pipe rack in the storage position because the hydraulic cylinders used to raise and lower the pipe rack may not withstand the vibrations of drilling and propel, so the pipe racktends to drop to its lower position into the path of the drill head. If the drill head then moves along the mast, it can tear out the pipe rack. The latch mechanism illustrated in the Reischl patent was manually released, which was a laborious operation which, if forgotten, could result in the latching means being torn out when the cylinder is actuated to lower the mechanism. It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a high-speed operating clamping means, a jaw structure for the clamping means that does not require close tolerances and a latching mechanism for the pipe rack that is automatic and foolproof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a pipe retainer comprising the combination of a pair of pipe retaining jaws articulating on a common pivot. The invention also relates to a fluid operating system for alternately releasing and locking said pipe retainer and comprising the combination of a source of fluid under pressure which is connected through a control valve to a fluid motor to operate said fluid motor which actuates a mechanical locking mechanism to either lock or release said pipe retainer, and said control valve controls flow of operating fluid between said source and said motor responsive to the movement of a valve operating means, which is located in a pipe socket to sense insertion of -a drill pipe into said socket. The present invention also relates to a latching mechanismfor a pipe rack in a pipe handling apparatus of a blast hole drilling machine, which latching mechanism includes a mechanical latch mounted on a drill mast alternately to grasp and release a catch on a' pipe rack, a fluid motor connected to actuate said latch to either release or grasp said catch on said pipe rack, said fluid motor being remotely controlled through a controller mechanism interlocked with a remote control for a power means that raises and lowers said pipe rack such that said power means cannot be energized until said fluid operating means for said latch has released said latch.

By the foregoing invention, the objects and advantages mentioned above are achieved. By utilizing a fluid operating system for the retainer jaws, practically instantaneous actuation of said jaws can be achieved thus minimizing, if not eliminating, the possibility of a failure of the retainer jaws to grasp and hold a drill pipe. By pivoting or articulating the retainer jaws about a common pivot point, instead of pivoting each jaw on its own individual point, the range of tolerances in which the retainer will function properly is very substantially enlarged with concomitant reduction in the labor required to manufacture the jaw mechanism and extension of the maintenance-free life of the pipe retainer. Finally, the use of a fluid operated latch, instead of the mechanically actuated latch used in the prior art, not only facilitates actuation of the latching mechanism, but also makes it possible to interlock the latching mechanism with the pipe rack operating mechanism to 3, insure that operator error cannot cause the pipe rack operating mechanism to tear out the latching means. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear in greater detail in the description of the preferred embodiment which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a blast hole drilling machine employing a present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in section of the mast of the blast hole drilling machine shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevation of a pipe handling apparatus embodying the present invention as employed in the blast hole drilling machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the pipe handling apparatus shown in FIG. 3 rotated 90% from the side elevation shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the pipe retainer embodying the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the pipe retainer with its pneumatically actuated locking mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the pipe retainer as shown in FIG. 6 but rotated 90% from the elevation shown in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the preferred embodiment, the present invention is included in a blast hole drilling machine such as is illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawing. A blast hole drill is supported on a vehicle 1 which has a pair of crawlers 2 that support a main frame 3 on which is mounted a cab and machinery housing 4. A drill mast 5 is pivotally mounted on the main frame 3 and is illustrated in solid line in its verticle drilling position with, in broken line 5' in its angle drilling position, and again in broken line 5" in its propel position. The mast 5 is an open lattice structure with'two sides and a back. Mounted between tracks (not shown) in the center of the mast 5 is a drill head 6, which includes on a supporting platform the roof the drill pipes 12, 13, and 14 from the drill hole to storage and the storing of the drill pipes 12, 13, and 14 is accomplished by three drill racks, 15, 16, and 17, which with associated machinery make up the drill pipe handling apparatus.

Since the drill racks 15, 16, and 17 may be treated as identical for the purposes of the present invention, one of the racks 16 will be disclosed in detail with the understanding that a similar disclosure of the other two racks l5 and 17 would be the same. The rack 16 is made up of a strut 18, which is a tubular structural member mounted parallel to the mast 5, on one end of which is a socket 19 to receive and hold the lower end of the drill pipe 13 and on the other end of which is a pipe retainer 20 which restrains the upper end of the pipe 13 when it is in the rack 16. The bottom end of the strut 18 is connected to the mast 5 by a lower arm 21, an outer end 22 of which is pivoted to the bottom end of the strut l8 and an inner end 23 of which is pivotally mounted on a bracket 24 on the mast 5. The top end of the strut 18 is connected to the mast 5 by an upper arm 25, an outer end 26 of which is pivotally fastened to the top of the strut 18, and an inner end 27 of which is pivotally mounted to a bracket 28 on the mast 5. Thus a parallelogram made up of the mast 5, the lower and upper arms 21 and 25, and the strut 18, is created, the joints of which are pivoted so that the strut 18 with the drill pipe 13 may be lifted to the back of the mast 5 away from the drill hole clear of the path of the drill head 6 or lowered outward over the hole and beneath the drill head 6 by pivoting the lower and upper arms 21 and 25, respectively. When the rack 16 is in its raised position, it is in its storage position as shown in solid line in FIG. 2, and when the rack 16' is lowered tating machinery for a drill string 7. The drill string 7 includes a drill point 8 and adrill stem 9. The drill head 6 has pinions (not shown) that engage a rack (not shown) mounted in the mast to drive the drill head 6 and with the drill string 7 up and down the mast 5, and a pull down drive for the pinions (not shown) and the drill head 6 is provided by drive chains 10 and 11, which are driven by machinery (are not shown) in the machinery housing 4 in the main frame 3.

Depending on the depth of hole to be drilled, drill stem 9 will consist of one to three drill pipes 12 which are stored in the mast 5 by a pipe handling apparatus, portion of which is the subject to this application. The location of the drill pipes 12, 13, and 14 in storage is most clearly illustrated in FIG. 2 which shows a drill mast 5 in section along the lines 2-2 in FIG. 1. It is the purpose of the drill pipe handling apparatus to present the drill pipes, 12, 13, and 14 successively over the drill hole, as shown in the broken line representation of the middle drill pipe 13 in FIG. 2. (The drill pipe 13 in drilling position is shown as drill pipe 13 in solid line in stored position in FIG. 2.) The drill pipe 13' is presented in position to be attached to the drill stem 9 to be put into use in the drill string 7, or to be removed from the drill stem 9 for return to storage. Translation it is in the position shown in broken line in FIG. 2.

To translate the strut 18 from its storage position to the drill hole and back, a hydraulic cylinder 29 is end mounted between the mast 5 and the lower arm 21 of the rack 16, its piston rod- 30 being attached to the lower arm 21 and its blind end 31 being attached to the mast 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the rack 16 is in its storage position where it is held by a latch 32, one end 33 of which is pivotally mounted on the mast 5, and an outer end 34 of which is hooked to engage a catch pin 35 secured by a bracket 36 to the strut 18 The latch 32 is actuated by a pneumatic cylinder 37, a blind end 38 of which is secured to a bracket 39 on the mast 5 and a piston rod 40 of which is fastened to a crank 41 pivoted with the pivotally mounted end 33 of the latch 32 so that when the piston rod 40 is extended, the latch 32 will be cranked upwardly releasing the catch pin 35. The pneumatic cylinder 37-is alternately connected through extend and retract lines 42 and 43 respectively through a valve 44 to a source of air under pressure (not shown). Similarly, the hydraulic cylinder 29 has its blind end 31 connected by an extend conduit 45 to a valve 46, and its rod end 47 connected by a retract conduit 48 to the valve46 which operates to connect either the rod end 47 or the blind end 31-to a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure (not shown) to retract or extend the piston rod 30. The air valve, 44 and the hydraulic valve 46 are interlocked to be actuated simultaneously such that the hydraulic cylinder 29 cannot be extended to lower the rack 16 until after the latch 32 is lifted releasing the rack 16.

The socket 19 at the bottom of the rack 16 is a cup shaped structure having a flared mouth 49 at its top. An

L-shaped sensor 50 is mounted on the side of the socket 19 with the foot 51 projecting through a slot (not shown) in the wall of the socket 19 to project into the interior of the socket 19 where it can engage the bottom of the pipe 13. The L-shaped sensor 50 has a vertical leg 52 that extends upwardly from the foot 51 along the outside surface of the socket and through holes in a pair of brackets 53 and 54 projecting from the side of the socket 19. A pin 55 extends on both sides of a hole through the top of the vertical leg 52 to engage the top of a compression spring 56 that surrounds the vertical leg 52 and the bottom of the compression spring bears against the upper bracket 53 to urge the L-shaped sensor 50 into its upper most position when the socket 19 is empty. When the pipe 13 is turned into the socket 19, it engages the horizontal foot 51 of the sensor 52 driving the sensor 52 to its lower most position against the compression spring 56. A linear cam 57 is mounted on the side of the vertical leg 52 of the sensor 50 where it is engaged by a cam follower 58 on an operator 59 of a pneumatic control valve 60. The pneumatic valve 60 is located in an air line 61 between a source of air under pressure and a pneumatic motor 62 which is mounted at the top of the pipe rack 16 as an operative part of the pipe retainer 20. The pneumatic valve 60 is so arranged that when the socket 19 is empty and the sensor 50 with the linear cam 57 is in its highest position as is shown in FIG. 4, the pneumatic valve 60 is closed, de-energizing the pneumatic motor 62, and when the sensor 50 is depressed to its lowest point, the linear cam 57 displaces the cam follower 58 to actuate the valve operator 59, opening the pneumatic valve 60, which energizes the pneumatic motor 62.

The preferred embodiment pipe retainer of the present invention is specifically illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, and when seen in plan view in FIG. 5 its salient structure looks like a pair of pipe tongs having two arcuate jaws 63 and 64, which when closed enclose a circular area. The jaw 63 on the right in FIG. 5 has its outer end 65 and its inner end 66 bifurcated to straddle the adjacent outer end 67 and inner end 68 of the other jaw 64. The two jaws 63 and 64 articulate about a common pivot 69, and they have short handles 70 and 71, respectively, that are spaced apart (as shown in solid line in FIG. 5) when the jaws 63 and 64 are closed and abut one another (as shown in broken line) when the jaws 63 and 64 are open. A pair of compression springs 72 and 73 bear respectively against the handles 70 and 71 urging the handles 70 and 71 together to bias the jaws 63 and 64 open. The compression springs 72 and 73 are respectively mounted about spring tension bolts 74 and 75 on opposite sides of said handles 70 and 71.

The supporting frame for the tong-like jaws 63 and 64 consists in the main of a horizontal mounting bracket 76 that is fastened to the top of the strut 18, a vertical channel member 77 that is fastened to the mounting bracket 76, and an upper horizontal bracket 78 that is fastened to the channel member 77 near its top to project over the mounting bracket 76. A vertical shaft 79 which serves as the common pivot 69 for the jaws 63 and 64 is mounted through the two horizontal brackets 76 and 78 and inside a pair of sleeves 80 that separate the jaws 63 and 64 from the brackets 76 and 78.

A jaw locking wedge 81 mounted in a slide box 82 that is reciprocably mounted in the vertical channel member 77. A guide rod 83 extends from the bottom of the slide box 82 and it has a compression spring 84 mounted about it bearing upwardly on the slide box 82 and downwardly against the floor of the channel member 77. The motor 62 has its drive shaft 85 extending vertically downward and screw-thread fastened to the top of the slide box 82.

The structure of the jaws 63 and 64 is also novel in several respects. First the jaw 63 on the right in FIGS. 5 and 7 is bifurcated into an upper member 86 and a lower member 87 to straddle the unified structure of the other jaw 64. Also, the jaws 63 and 64 have vertical wing extensions 88 and 89, 90 and 91, respectively. Also, especial notice should be given the arcuate shape of the inner ends 66 and 68 of the jaws 63 and 64 so that when the outer ends 65 and 67 of the jaws 63 and 64 are spread apart, i.e. opened, the inner ends 66 and 68 project into the space defined by the jaws 63 and 64 to strike the cylindrical surface of the drill pipe 13 when the pipe rack 16' extends outwardly to receive the drill pipe 13'.

The entire pipe retainer 20 is given additional support and stabilization by the triangular brace 92 that is secured between the under surface of the mounting bracket 76 and the vertical surface of the strut 18.

in describing the operation of the preferred embodiment of the invention, assume the starting point to find the pipe 13 in the rack 16 in storage position. To add the pipe 13 to the drill stem 9, the rack 16 first must extend the pipe 13 from the storage position to locate the pipe 13 centrally over the drill hole, and to do this the drill operator actuates the interlocked valves 44 and 46. The valves 44 and 46 are interlocked to sequentially energize first the pneumatic latch release cylinder 37 and then the rack operating hydraulic cylinder 29 to release the latch 32 first and then to lower and extend the rack 16 by pivoting the arms 21 and 25 downward.

When the rack 16 has presented the drill pipe 13' centered over the drill hole, the head 6 is lowered so the rotating machinery can engage the top end of the pipe 13' and slowly turn it out of the socket 19. When the pipe 13 rises out of the socket 19', the compression spring 52 raises the sensor 50 moving the linear cam 57 and consequently the cam follower 58 to open the pneumatic valve 60 energizing the locking motor 62 which then drives the locking wedge 81 down and out from between the handles 70 and 71 of the jaws 63 and 64. With the locking wedge 81 removed, the bias springs 72 and 73 can force the handles 70 and 71 together so that when the rack 16 is retracted to the storage position, the jaws 63 and 64 of the pipe retainer 20 will open releasing the pipe 13', which the head 6 may then lower onto and join to either the end of the pipe stem 9 or the drill point 8, whatever the case may be.

When the rack 16 is in storage the jaws 63 and 64 of the pipe retainer are held open by the springs 72 and 73, ready to receive the pipe 13' from the stem 9. After the pipe 13' has been raised from the drill hole by the drill head 6 and removed from the stem 9, the operator once again actuates the interlocked valves 44 and 46 to release the latch 32 and extend the rack 16' down over the drill hole. As the rack 16' reaches its extended position, the open jaws 63 and 64 of the retainer 20 pass around the pipe 13' and the projecting inner ends 66 and 68 of the jaws 63 and 64 strike the pipe 13' and are driven about the jaw pivot 69 toward a flush position, thus closing the jaws 63 and 64 of the pipe retainer 20 about the drill pipe 13. The drill head 6 then turns the drill pipe 13' into the socket 19, depressing the foot 51 of the sensor 50 with the linear cam 57, which moves the cam follower 58 to close the pneumaticvalve 60. When the fluid valve 60 closes, the fluid motor 62 is deenergized and the compression spring 84 about the slide box extension 83 drives the locking wedge 81 between the jaw handles 70 and 71, locking the jaws 63 and 64 of the pipe retainer 20 closed about the drill pipe 13'. The interlocked valves 44 and 46 may then be actuated to withdraw and latch the pipe rack 16 with the drill pipe 13 in storage.

We claim:

1. A drill pipe rack for holding a drill pipe in an earth drilling machine comprising the combination of a strut member;

a socket mounted on said strut member to receive one end of said drill pipe;

a retainer mounted on said strut spaced from said socket to restrain another end of said drill pipe in said pipe rack, said retainer having two arcuate jaws articulated on a common pivot to open and close about said drill pipe;

and said arcuate jaws having outer ends that diverge when said jaws open to receive or release said drill pipe and inner ends on opposite sides of said pivot pin from said respective outer ends, and said inner ends project into a space defined by said jaws when said jaws are open.

2. A drill rack as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said jaws has a handle projecting away from said space defined by said jaws adjacent to said pivot pin;

and spring means bear against said handles to urge said jaws open.

3. A drill pipe rack asset forth in claim 2 wherein .said spring means urges said handles together;

and a reciprocable locking wedge is mounted for insertion between said handles when said jaws are closed to lock said jaws closed.

4. A drill pipe rack as set forth in claim 1 wherein said strut member is-mounted to be translated normal to its axis between a storage position and a position over a drill hole;

a first fluid power means controlled by a first valve means drives said strut member between said storage position and said position over said drill hole;

a latch releasably engages said strut member to hold said strut member in said storage position;

a second fluid power means controlled by a second valve means actuates said latch to release said latch;

and said first and second valve means are interlocked to prevent said first fluid power means from being energized before said latch is released.

5. A drill pipe rack as set forth in claim 3 wherein a fluid 'motor is connected to said reciprocable locking wedge to drive said reciprocable locking wedge;

and said fluid motor is connected to a source of operating fluid through a control valve responsive to the presence of said drill pipe in said socket.

6. A drill pipe rack as set forth in claim 5 wherein a sensor is reciprocably mounted on said socket to be moved by said drill pipe when said one end of said drill pipe enters said socket;

a cam surface is mounted on said sensor to move with said sensor;

and a cam follower riding on said cam surface is connected to an operator of said control valve to actuate said operator when said cam surface moves. 

1. A drill pipe rack for holding a drill pipe in an earth drilling machine comprising the combination of a strut member; a socket mounted on said strut member to receive one end of said drill pipe; a retainer mounted on said strut spaced from said socket to restrain another end of said drill pipe in said pipe rack, said retainer having two arcuate jaws articulated on a common pivot to open and close about said drill pipe; and said arcuate jaws having outer ends that diverge when said jaws open to receive or release said drill pipe and inner ends on opposite sides of said pivot pin from said respective outer ends, and said inner ends project into a space defined by said jaws when said jaws are open.
 2. A drill rack as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said jaws has a handle projecting away from said space defined by said jaws adjacent to said pivot pin; and spring means bear against said handles to urge said jaws open.
 3. A drill pipe rack as set forth in claim 2 wherein said spring means Urges said handles together; and a reciprocable locking wedge is mounted for insertion between said handles when said jaws are closed to lock said jaws closed.
 4. A drill pipe rack as set forth in claim 1 wherein said strut member is mounted to be translated normal to its axis between a storage position and a position over a drill hole; a first fluid power means controlled by a first valve means drives said strut member between said storage position and said position over said drill hole; a latch releasably engages said strut member to hold said strut member in said storage position; a second fluid power means controlled by a second valve means actuates said latch to release said latch; and said first and second valve means are interlocked to prevent said first fluid power means from being energized before said latch is released.
 5. A drill pipe rack as set forth in claim 3 wherein a fluid motor is connected to said reciprocable locking wedge to drive said reciprocable locking wedge; and said fluid motor is connected to a source of operating fluid through a control valve responsive to the presence of said drill pipe in said socket.
 6. A drill pipe rack as set forth in claim 5 wherein a sensor is reciprocably mounted on said socket to be moved by said drill pipe when said one end of said drill pipe enters said socket; a cam surface is mounted on said sensor to move with said sensor; and a cam follower riding on said cam surface is connected to an operator of said control valve to actuate said operator when said cam surface moves. 